Friday, 21 November 2008

Prereview of Skeleton Creek by Patrick carman

This is a prereview( my final review is here). That is, it is a review before a book comes out or even before I have read it. You might be asking how can I do that? There are two ways. First I have read 7 of the 9 books by the author and they are all excellent. Second this book is a brand new form of art. This book is not just a book, it is a book linked to a series of sites and interactive media. The media has started now and is available at skeletoncreekisreal.com. The book comes out early next year. The concept is that as you read the book you will be given codes to specific websites.

Now some might say that books linked to websites are nothing new, especially, John Twelve Hawks' fourth realm trilogy, starting with The Traveler. Or The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins which has supporting fan sites. But that is completely different; that book only hid sites that were created for organizations in the book. In this case the Skeleton Creek sites are designed as part of the book. It is created as an alternate reality experience in which someone has discovered hidden secret files on a website (you can do it also if you follow the instructions in video #2). Those hidden files lead the narrator to believe that the Skeleton Creek story is based on real world events. And apparently there is no end of depth to these interactive sites. The narrator will never break character, so it feels very possible that everything he's saying could be true. Stay with it and pretty soon his own story will spin way out of control.Author Patrick Carman states: "Now the fun part....there are clues to what's going on hidden in the videos, the file folders, on websites you'll find access to, even wikipedia sites. If you follow along you'll know about certain events almost no one else will be aware of. For example, if you pay attention, you'll be at the right place and the right time for live, once-only web casts of me giving additional information - and you might even get a chance to meet me in person or discover a hidden book in your area." The concept for this book is just so cool. How can it not be a great hit?

This book will be fantastic so check out the websites and get the book when it comes out. It is geared for the net generation, and the mixed media format will attract students, and students of all ages. As you read the book you get codes to watch the video's. The two combined tell the ghost story and should almost make it seem real.Other Supporting Websites: